M.C. Easton

Facing up to My Disability and My Prejudices

According to the Migraine Research Foundation, 2% of the U.S. population suffers from chronic migraine, a severe disability that dramatically impacts quality of life. For some chronic migraineurs, the condition shifts from episodic to chronic because of long-term medication overuse. For others like myself who are new to migraine treatments, sometimes migraine simply becomes progressive,Continue reading “Facing up to My Disability and My Prejudices”

The Western Literary Canon, or the Curious Case of the Male Ego

Over the last two years, I’ve read Beowulf, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, More’s Utopia, Aristotle’s Poetics, and sections from The Epic of Gilgamesh. I’ve made a project of the canon because, at 33, I felt that if I want to be the kind of writer I aspire to be, I need to know what I’m workingContinue reading “The Western Literary Canon, or the Curious Case of the Male Ego”

The Androgynous Genius of David Bowie

Growing up Mormon in the 1980s, I didn’t experience much pop culture beyond Rainbow Brite and E.T. But in 1988, I saw Labyrinth and was introduced to the cosmic force that was Planet Earth’s David Bowie. Both frightened and utterly bewitched at age seven, I fell in love. In my white bread, fiercely heteronormative suburb, IContinue reading “The Androgynous Genius of David Bowie”

Passing Normal: When Your Mother Has Autism

I inherited an odd brain. When the winter sun hits the three o’clock slant and stares me straight in the face, I feel like my eye sockets are blistering–even with my eyelids squeezed shut. The wrong colors set my teeth on edge. Dusky reds and velvet purples soothe me. But whites, blues, yellows, and evenContinue reading “Passing Normal: When Your Mother Has Autism”

How the Sexism of The West Wing Turned Me off Sorkin

Back when it first aired, I reacted the way football fans do when their home team wins. I bounced up and down on my parents’ couch whenever the opening credits rolled over the American flag. I giggled at every zinger Josh got in, and I cheered Toby’s every moral triumph. I was also a blissfullyContinue reading “How the Sexism of The West Wing Turned Me off Sorkin”

3 Lessons for the Flashback from Jane the Virgin

Just a few months ago, I was scrolling through Netflix and stumbled across the award-winning CW series, Jane the Virgin. I haven’t logged off since. Jennie Urman and her writing team have worked magic in adapting this telenovela for U.S. audiences. And one of the tools they wield with mastery is the flashback. Now the flashback gets a bad rap,Continue reading “3 Lessons for the Flashback from Jane the Virgin”

Learning Mindfulness from Two Months of Sick Leave

I’ve gotta tell you–these last two months at home with just the cats, my laptop, and my migrainous vertigo have offered some advantages. Like I’ve missed a good chunk of cold and flu season. Like I get to sleep in. Like full-time grad school is a breeze when classes are online and I only workContinue reading “Learning Mindfulness from Two Months of Sick Leave”

3 Tools to Get the Sharper Prose You’ve Always Wanted

A student recently asked me how to cut unnecessary words–and what the hell “unnecessary” even means. Good question. One that was probably inspired by comments her professor had scribbled over her paper: Redundant. Extra words. Repetitive. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen exactly those comments from professors who seem to assume their students willContinue reading “3 Tools to Get the Sharper Prose You’ve Always Wanted”

4 Reasons Why Keeping Secrets from Readers Doesn’t Work

Every quarter I read at least half a dozen pieces of freshman writing that withhold key information from readers in the hope of building suspense. I suspect these student-writers once watched The Sixth Sense or Psycho and decided that all great stories need a great twist. The problem, though, is that they missed the pony.Continue reading “4 Reasons Why Keeping Secrets from Readers Doesn’t Work”

How Ronald D. Moore Used Star Trek to Build a Better Battlestar Galactica

So I’ve been binge-watching Deep Space 9, and the funny thing is that some pretty familiar tropes from Battlestar Galactica sprout up during the last two seasons. It’s my first time rewatching DS9 since BSG, and the parallels make me very happy. Why? Ronald D. Moore experiments with story threads, characters, and techniques in DS9Continue reading “How Ronald D. Moore Used Star Trek to Build a Better Battlestar Galactica”